Thursday, December 11, 2014

Kaitlyn Teppert: A Woman's Touch

As many people
know, gender balance in the science and political world is nonexistent. While women
have absolutely become more represented in these fields, the disparity and
difference between the genders is still there, and still strong. Due to the
nature of science and politics, the COP becomes a melting pot for both of those
worlds to come together as the climate science is applied and considered in policy
making.

Along with more
distinct and definitive wording needing to be utilized in the official policies,
we also need to reconsider our entire approach to climate change.

Think about it –
when we hear about things like renewable energy, or new infrastructure, or more
efficient appliances, or electric cars, what pops into everyone’s mind? Money.
And why? Because politicians have made it that way. They’ve presented climate
change not as the disaster it is, but as a component of the economy; of course,
it influences and is influenced by the economy, but by no means does that mean
can we put a price on human lives.

So where does this
tie into gender?

On December 9th at
the COP’s gender day, I had the wonderful experience of getting to listen to,
amongst others, Wandee Khunchornyakong speak about how her company began. Ms. Khunchornyakong
began some of the first solar farms in Thailand. Currently, she runs 36 of
them; simply because when the government opened applications for solar farms,
no one else applied—so when she was expecting one, she was handed 36.

Ms. Khunchornyakong examining meters in one of her many solar farms.

Upon approval, she
went to the banks in her city, trying to convince the banks that green
investments were smart investments. After almost every bank turned her down,
Ms. Khunchornyakong was able to find a bank to cover 60% of the costs. Which
meant she’d have to find 40%.

At the talks on
December 9th, Ms. Khunchornyakong smiled out into the audience, reminiscing
about these days, with her husband in the row directly behind mine. She looked
out at us and said:

“I told him, ‘if we lose, we only lose money. But if we win…’”

The implications
are there. If their solar farms were successful (which they are), they wouldn’t
just earn money; but lower carbon dioxide emissions, and end up offering
thousands of local jobs and opportunities for people.

Ms. Khunchornyakong’s
words, I think, embodied the difference between how women lead and how men
lead. So far, the discussion has revolved around money, because as the saying
goes, “money talks.”

Well, I think
money might talk too much.

When we consider
climate change, we always ask ourselves what we can do to change. What can we
make more efficient? What habits are bad and make large, negative impacts? What
alternatives do we have?

Maybe we should
begin to consider to change the leadership. Allowing women to rise up to higher
positions, allowing them into the discussion for policy making and help design
the roadmaps to a livable, sustainable future could completely change the
discussion. Ms. Khunchornyakong’s statement is the perfect embodiment of how
women choose to lead. We recognize that climate change is a people issue, not just an environmental
one.

Ms. Khunchornyakong’s
business is a lighthouse; it is a beacon of hope for climate, for change, and
for women.

The college was accepted as a civil society observer (NGO) for the United Nations Framework Conventions on Climate Change in 2009. We started this blog to tell our story as we experienced these international negotiations and side events for the first time - as seen through the eyes of students, faculty, alumni, friends of the college. Our previous delegations have attended conferences in Denmark, Mexico, South Africa, Qatar, Poland, Peru, France, and Morocco. The delegation is currently in Bonn, Germany, for COP23.

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